Is anyone planning to watch the All Star game tonight? The new stadium here in Mpls. will get quite a workout with every seat filled. I'm sure security will be very tight.

My son and dil have tickets for tonight's game (they also have season tickets for most of the Twin's games). Their All Star tickets are great! They are in the lower tier 18 rows back from the field, and to the left of the batter's box.

I asked him what they paid for the tickets, but he wouldn't tell me. I'm pretty sure he figured his old Dad would object. Even the tickets way up in the nose bleed section of right field were priced well into the hundreds of $$$$$.

I have been invited to watch the game on a big screen TV at a friend's house tonight in the comfort of a Lazy Boy chair - after we chow down on pizza.

Don

John 14:6Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

I'm so glad you get to watch from the comfort of a friend's home on big screen tv, Don. That would be my cup of tea, should I be so inclined. While I can take it or leave it, some members of my family are so crazy for games that they go to Florida on vacation every year to see the Twins in their winter practice, whatever the term for it is.

Here's something quite interesting. I received it by email at least third hand, and I find no source indicated, so I'll just present it for your thoughtful consideration. I did not know the history I put between these >>marks<< as I had always assumed "Palestine" was just a corruption of the word Philistines:

THE LAND IS NOT "PALESTINE"It is Biblically incorrect to speak of the land of Israel as "Palestine." There are seven places in the Bible where the Hebrew word "p'leshet" is used; Ex.15:14, Ps.60:8, Ps.87:4, Ps.108:9, Is.14:29 & 31, and Joel 3:4. Sometimes it is translated as "Palestine," other times it is translated as "Philistia." Regardless of which English word is used, the reference is to the land of the Philistines. Essentially, the references speak of God's judgments on the Philistines.

"Palestine" is not a Biblical synonym for the land of Israel. It is simply a designation for a small coastal strip in Canaan, from south of Jaffa to south of Gaza. (cf. Jer.47:1-7; Ezek.25:15-17; Am.1:6-8; Zeph.2:4-7) >>The name "Palestine" was applied by the Romans to Judea after they had crushed the Bar Kokhba Rebellion.<< It was intended as a punishment signifying that the Jews would never again live there.

Some 18 centuries later, in the greatest miracle of all that time, the Roman decree was nullified when a language, a people, and a land were brought forth from the dead. The house of Jacob began to again possess their possessions. God demonstrated that His power, His faithfulness, and His Word are greater than the weapons and the decrees of men.

Even as Isaiah had prophesied, "Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Is.11:11-12)

The return of a remnant from Babylonian captivity was the first return. In it, the dispersed of Judah were not regathered "from the four corners of the earth." The second regathering has taken place in this century. It is not yet complete, but it is evident to all.

Biblically, the land was called Canaan, the land of the Canaanites. God destroyed the Canaanites because of their iniquity, and gave the land to Israel, the people He created, for an inheritance forever. Though it is the common usage of many, God never calls the land of Israel "Palestine." It is interesting that almost none of the Bibles that have maps have maps entitled "Israel". They have maps of "Canaan" and maps of "The Holy Land," but they do not have maps of "Israel." They have maps of "The divided kingdoms of Judea and Israel," but no maps of "Israel." They have maps of the "Land of the Twelve Tribes," and maps of "The Empire of David," and "The Empire of Solomon," but they do not have maps of "Israel."

They have maps of "Palestine in the time of the Maccabees" and "Palestine in the Time of Christ." That is absurd. There was no "Palestine" in the time of the Maccabees or in the time of Christ. "Palestine" did not come into existence as a designation for the land of Israel until the second century. It is like publishing a map entitled "The British Empire in the time of Christ," or "Downtown San Francisco in the time of the Maccabees."

Such designations show, whether intentionally or not, an anti-Biblical, anti-Judaic bias. So do the maps labeled, "Palestine Today." The geographical annihilation of Israel stands in open hostility to the Word of God. It is an evasion and denial of an important Biblical truth.

Since the re-establishment of the State of Israel, those who believe the Church is the "New Israel" have a dilemma. Having the "old Israel" raised from the dead makes the "New Israel" very uneasy about the theological position it has carved out for itself. That is why some who hold this position actually hope that Israel will be destroyed. They are unwilling to turn from their false theology. That is why they embrace "Palestine," but reject Israel; and call for an end to "the Israeli occupation of Palestine." To use God's designation of the land as "Israel" would make the call far less appealing. After all, how many people could be stirred up about ending "the Israeli occupation of Israel"?

Those who want to follow and glorify the Lord would do better to use His designation for the land of "Israel". As far as God is concerned, there is no question about to whom the land belongs. It is His land, and He gave it to the Jewish people for an everlasting possession.

He has given other lands to other peoples. "And He made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitations." (Acts 17:26) It is God who determines what land belongs to what people. The God of Israel has spoken very clearly about the land of Israel.

Perhaps I'll be able to track down a source. I'd appreciate knowing where this is found or who pulled together the information.

Edy, your joke reminds me of a true story. When I was a little girl, there were gypsies in our area who would come around and offer to do odd jobs, home repairs, and stuff like that. They often painted barn roofs, and used silver paint. Always silver. Come to find out, they were thinning it down. They used silver because it was harder to detect thin spots and signs of wear than most other colors. I remember seeing an awful lot of barns with silver roofs when I was growing up.

Mariane, I love your link. It's so true, and so touching.

I had a lovely lunch with my granddaughter while Don was on a fishing trip. My precious great grandson couldn't have cared less. He slept while we ate and chatted. I didn't realize how much I was going to love him. He is just the cutest thing. Can't wait to get my hands on him again and spoil him some more.

Supposedly, I am working on my book, or at least what I sat down at the computer for. I've had a terrible time trying to finish up this last book in the trilogy. Guess I better at least try to work on it.

Prayer appreciated: a chronic condition has really flared in the past 24+ hours. I'm debating whether to wait for the Great Physician to intervene directly (my absolute preference), or to head to the VA clinic for assessment (I hate going to the doctor!). Thanks so much!

Thank you all for your intercessions on my behalf. Things have settled down today, compared to last night. I did phone the VA to make an appointment, scheduled for next Wednesday. So, I'm still praying that the root problem will turn out to be what I suspect/hope is something readily fixed with little to no invasive procedures. Being a nurse, I am not a good patient! Thankfully I'm usually quite healthy with a high pain threshold, so I'd rather suffer through whatever than get medical intervention. As one of my neighbor friends once told me, by the time we're tired of being sick and make an appointment, we are probably just about over it, if we could just hang on a little longer.